Bird Feeder Time Lapse Camera

I placed my new bird feeder, which I received as a Christmas present, outdoors by my breakfast room window at 13:00 Christmas Day.  For one week, I saw no activity at the feeder.  On New Years Day, I saw a squirrel eating my sunflower chips.  Damn squirrels!

There is no way I can sit and watch my feeder 24/7 or even just during daylight hours.  I needed an automated device to record the activity at the feeder.  I could have used my video camera from inside the window.   With the video camera, I would get a few hours of recording before the media filled to capacity or the batteries were expended.  That wasn't going to work.  I could purchase the hardware and software to allow my Nikon to capture images in a time lapse fashion.  That would be costly.  

I remembered seeing on the web somewhere, a programmable time lapse camera that is small, weather proof and under $150.00.   I did some research and purchased from Amazon a Brinno TLC 100 and a Fat Gecko Single Suction Cup Camera Mount, all for under $200.00.  I ordered both on a Friday and they arrived on Wednesday.


I opened the Brinno package and read the manual.  Windows operating system is needed to program the camera.  I only own Apple computers.  I have always only owned Macs.  My children own Macs.  Without Windows I was unable to change the application or the time stamp in the camera.  I would figure out something later.  For the present, I would only use the camera default time intervals and live with the wrong time stamp.

The camera was larger than I thought it would be.  From the images I saw online I thought it was 3" tall.  I made the above image to give you an idea of the size of the camera.  I have large hands.  If I stretch out my hand, from the tip of my small finger to the tip of my thumb is close to 10".  The actual dimensions of the camera are 3.66" x 7.55" x 2.08".

Included in the package were four Panasonic AA batteries and a 2GB USB flash drive.

The back of the TLC 100 has a locking mechanism that closes securely.  Once open, the batteries easily slipped into the appropriate holders.

It was time to choose the time intervals between exposures.  I originally chose time setting #2 or five minute intervals.  After one day of exposures I removed the flash drive and viewed the video.  I caught only two exposures of a squirrel.  That meant the squirrel was at the feeder more than five minutes but less than fifteen.  That was not enough exposures for me.  I changed the intervals to time setting #7 which is factory set at 5 seconds.

The flash drive is then inserted, the back is locked on and the camera is ready for service.

I didn't want the camera on a tripod inside the window for various reasons.  I purchased a camera mount with a suction cup to mount the camera outside to my breakfast room window.

The Brinno has a threaded socket to accept a standard 1/4-20 machine screw.  The Fat Gecko has a standard 1/4-20 stud to mount the camera.

I was now ready to place the camera outside on the window.  I cleaned the window to make the glass as smooth as possible for the best suction.

The suction cup was then placed on the glass and locked in position.  I adjusted the mount so the camera was pointed at the feeder and locked all the adjustable handles and locking rings.  I measured the distance from the camera to the feeder and placed the focus dial a the closest setting 20" - macro.

View from inside the breakfast room

I activated the power and the exposures began.

The above video was from Monday, 16 Jan 2012, three weeks to the day elapsed since I first hung the feeder.  Nothing happening in this time lapse video except wind blowing the feeder, the sun moving through the back yard and at elapsed time 0:57 through 1:00 one bird appears at the feeder.  It turns out to be a Junco.  A Junco that I stated earlier would never eat at this hanging feeder.  Mea culpa.  I would never have known this fact without the camera.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Are Bird Feeders Selfish?

Is it a selfish motivation to put out a bird feeder?  For many years I felt birds should fend for themselves.  They should forage for their own food.  Isn't that the natural way?  I felt providing food for birds, even in a severe winter, was akin to giving a beggar money, making them dependent on handouts.  I feared I was doing the birds an injustice, making them lazy, shiftless and demoralizing them.  As I age, I have changed by thoughts on the matter.  My reasons may be selfish, but I want birds in my garden. 

Available from Lowe's via mail order item# 335583

My youngest daughter gave me a bird feeder, including bird food, for Christmas.  I had my eye on this feeder for some time.  It has a central hopper for seed and four holders on two sides for suet cakes.  I filled the hopper with sunflower chips. 

Available at Lowe's item # 215668

Lots of birds like sunflower seeds, like titmice, chickadees, finches, wrens, nuthatches, cardinals and bluejays.  I placed a suet cake in the feeder.  The suet will attract woodpeckers.   I then hung it outside my breakfast room window.  As I stood admiring my new feeder, feeling good inside, I wondered how long it would take for the birds to find the feeder.

I turned to my son, who was standing in the kitchen, and asked, "How long do you think it will be before the birds find the feeder?"


"Three weeks," was his reply.


Three weeks?  I was hoping it would only take three days.  


One week later, early morning New Years Day, I sat at my iMac writing this blog.  I looked out the second floor window into my back yard.  I saw several crows on the grass.  They were the first birds, of any kind, I saw since I started to look for birds on Christmas day.  I hadn't seen birds in the trees, bushes or even flying in the sky, until these crows.  I thought, maybe, there was some sinister force at work.  Some animal eating all the birds.  Or maybe, some kind of cataclysmic natural disaster about to happen, that only wild animals could sense.  More rationally, I was beginning to fear my timing was too late in the season for this feeder.  I began to doubt the value of my actions.  The mercury level began to fall on my confidenc-o-meter.


Late that afternoon, I had my first visitor to the feeder. 

Damned squirrels!  They will do anything to get food.  I have seen them chew through plastic feeders, leap 20 feet from an overhanging tree branch to a small suspended feeder to get to food.  Squirrels are tenacious critters.  This feeder is all metal.  I think it will survive the squirrels. 

Source:Junco

The next Friday, I was at home all day.  I noticed several birds near the feeder, but none at the feeder.  I saw several Juncos and two House Finches, and a woodpecker in a nearby tree.  

Source:All About Birds

I don't think I will ever see Juncos at the feeder.  They only eat off the ground or a low platform feeder.  I don't know how they find enough food.  I didn't see the House Finches at the feeder, but I may have startled them from the feeder when I approached the window.


Whilst looking on the web for bird images for this post, I found a site called Project Feeder Watch.  They have a program for ordinary citizens to count birds at their backyard feeders and then report their numbers to Cornell University for statistical reasons.  Their counting season is from the second week in November through the first Friday in April.  Although I put the bird feeder out almost six weeks later than the beginning of feeder watch season, I joined and will receive tallies and member supplies within the next three weeks.  That will leave me all of Feb and March to count birds and add my findings to the data base at Cornell.  I will enjoy adding my data.


I want birds in my garden.  I enjoy watching birds.  I think they are beautiful.  For those reasons, I put out a bird feeder.  Some people may call me selfish.  I can live with that.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved